Just for the record, because, although I like Jed's recording, the words mean more to me the way they were written:


The Last Day of May
©Michael Troy

1. On the hillside of tears
Stones stand like soldiers
All at attention, all in a row
Frozen in time, youthful in pictures
Too brave to stay, too young to go

2. Here's to the boys, that all went before me
No honor or glory, will ever repay
The lives that you spent
Just tears in showers, and hands full of flowers
On the last day in May.

Chorus:
Though the valley of death, did swallow them whole
God let no soul, die in vain
When the boundaries of peace, get out of control
Let the Angel of Mercy, hold close their names.

3. There's a house, with a wall
With all of the pictures, of all of the children
All of them grown
There's a woman in the house
Who raised all the children
Who could never sleep easy, till all where at home

4. Here's to the mothers, who paid the ultimate price
Made to live out their lives, in grief all the years
Here's to the fathers, who comfort their wives
With nothing to offer, but buckets of tears

Chorus

5. In fields of green pastures
They lie by still waters
All at attention, all in a row
Though flesh turned to dust, souls are forever
They've restored the order, at cup's overflow

Chorus

---

There are causes, right or wrong. This isn't about the causes, it's not about the wars, and it's not about the soap box. This is about where bullets and bayonettes meet flesh, and idealism and dreams and hopes and terror and regrets and 'things to do tomorrow' ended. It's about people with faces and names, families and friends.

The world has moved on without them, but we can remember.